Cries from the past
by Chuhrl
Summary: A Secret Santa commission for a friend.


It was a quiet night in Mistral. No sounds of unrest. It was peaceful. Only a slight breeze and the sound of a nearing airship could be heard in the distance. The small Airship flew quietly over the ocean of clouds. Its X-shaped form and the long banners hanging from each end of its wings made it look like an anomaly in the sky. But you could feel the tension it had: One destination, one course. Its motion was nearly undetectable. "A perfect ship for a stealth operation.", Winter said quietly to herself. She sat motionless on a small bench at the end of the Airship. The inside was cold, metallic and gave away a feeling of narrowness. The airship had a small cargo hangar with a large hatch for loading. There was only enough space for two people. The ship's intercom activated "We reached Mistral airspace madam. 10 minutes until the drop-off." "Good. We shall begin.", she replied. Winter puts on her mask. The mask gave very little vision and it felt tightening. She heard her slow breath through the mask. "Depressurizing process completed madam. I am opening the hatch. 1 minute to go." The cold air rushed into the hangar and surrounded Winter. Even through her suit she could feel the slight coldness. She stood up from her seat and aimed directly with no hesitation towards the open hatch. "Status is green to go. Commencing countdown; 5… 4… 3… 2… 1" And so she vanished head on into the dark Sky.

"A landing by the books. No frostbite, neither problems with the parachute. Excellent as always." she thought to herself. It was still early in the morning and the clouded sky lets very little light trough. Winter collected her parachute, detached her suit and mask and hid it behind a tree. She placed a small homing beacon next to her equipment and linked it to her portable communication device. The environment was rather rocky, surrounded by its flora and fauna. But the beautiful nature Mistrals weren't Winters concern. She had one mission, no matter the costs. Her goal was on a small ridge along the rock wall. A shaft masked through the shadows of the big cliffs stretching out into the night, only visible on close examination. "Almost invisible to the human eye, but not for a Fanus." The entrance to the White Fang main hideout. It was mildly dark, only a few candles illumine the big halls. Red banners with the White Fang logo hanged from the ceiling and railings. Two guards dressed in ceremonial garnet guarded the throne room. Quite luxurious but that doesn't matter anyway remarked Winter to herself. She slicked past another pair of guards and followed the long hallway. The floor was covered with a red-carpet crawling thought the lair. Two doors appeared on the opposite of each wall. Winter moved towards the right door. "Locked! The lock is too old to open without breaking it." She tried her luck on the other door. Success! The door was open and Winter slithered through and locked the room from the inside.

The room was decorated luxurious. A large oak wood desk with decorative carvings stretched along the left wall. To the right a passage covered up with two red curtains. Each of them had the White Fang logo sewed onto it. Perhaps a bathroom. In the centre of the room, a large twinned with two statues on each side. Suddenly the curtains were removed with an immense force. Winter was paralysed and then she saw her. Sienna Khan, high leader of the White Fang entered the room. The Fanus entered with such grace, it could send any woman to shame and jealousness. Her dark red skin was filled with tattoos in a symmetrical shape. Two extra catlike ears reached out of her short black hair. She wore a black fitting dress with light green accents on the rims. It left most of her back open. Over the dress she wore a back revealing red cape with gold accents, as well as a green waist crested with red rims that had a black belt over it, which fastened a green pouch on her right hip. Aside from that, she wore black stockings in conjunction with green sandals that had red laces which were tied to her calves, as well as a black elbow length fingerless glove on her right hand.

"Oh, I didn't expect visitors." Babbled Sienna. "Are you here to kill me?" Winter stood rooted to the ground. What should she do? Better run or attack her? What consequences are going to arise? "I asked you a question, human!" Winter noticed a glass of wine in Sienna's hand. Is she drunk? "I came here accidentally" Winter replied. What else could she say, announce to kill her? Probably unwise. "Ha ha ha, and you think I should believe that!" Sienna moved her body beyond her control which caused her to spill wine onto the floor. Who is this woman? Is she trying to trick me? All these questions went through Winters mind. Sienna inspected Winter for a while, smirked and fell over her own feet. "Whoopsies." "Are you alright?" stuttered Winter. She couldn't believe it herself. Why would she say such thing to the enemy? "Don't worry about me child, I've got it under control" She babbled and raised herself up with the help of one curtain. Her stature was very shaky and she seemed to fall again. Winter ask herself why he feels empathy for her. Sienna continued to babble about someone's failure and almost forgot Winter's presence. Winter moved a few steps toward her and she moved her head in Winter's direction. As she saw Sienna's orange eyes, she saw hopelessness, fear and regret. Something happened that even the great high leader had the slightest sign of regret. Of course, something happened, Beacon has fallen by the hands of her organisation. Winter was furious. "Why did you do it? Why Beacon?" Sienna studded, "I'm sorry. I didn't know he would do it. This wasn't meant to happen." Her voice broke into sobbing and her eyes filled with tears. They looked at each other, as if their eyes were fixed forever.

Sienna moved in an instant towards the bathroom. What is she doing? A foul smell crawled into winters nose. As she entered the bathroom, she saw Sienna crouching near the lavatory. "I never wanted this. I deserve this punishment" Winter moved towards Sienna and fell on her knees. "No!" She gently took Sienna by her head and rested it on her chest. Sienna began to sob again. Winter remembered the hard struggle of her mother's divorce, her consumption of alcohol and the lonely nights in vain. She felt empathy for Sienna. What should I do? Finish the job or let her go?


End file.
